The eight-level Embassy Suites on 10th Street in downtown St. Paul will close in early January 2019 prior to a renovation. The hotel has been acquired by the Drury Hotel chain of Missouri. Also closing is Cork’s Irish Pub. (Frederick Melo / Pioneer Press)

In downtown St. Paul, the Embassy Suites Hotel will close in early January, laying off more than 100 workers prior to a renovation and rebranding as a Drury Plaza Hotel. Cork’s Irish Pub, which is located in the hotel, will close as well.

The Missouri-based Drury hotel chain operates 150 hotel properties in 25 states under the brand names Drury Inn, Drury Plaza and Pear Tree Inn, according to the company’s website.

News of the Embassy Suites closure, first reported by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, was confirmed Friday by the hotel’s general manager. He referred all further questions to the Zimmerman agency, a public relations firm.

The agency forwarded a brief statement by email:

“The Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Paul Downtown is closing on Jan. 8, 2019, due to a change in ownership. The hotel will not be accepting any additional reservations after Dec. 30, 2018. As the comfort of our guests is a top priority, we are working with our partners to assist guests and groups to reserve alternate hotels nearby. After extensive renovations, the hotel will reopen as the first Drury Plaza Hotel in the state of Minnesota. Drury Hotels looks forward to continuing the tradition of excellent customer service with a revitalized hotel for St. Paul visitors.”

The eight-floor Embassy Suites, located at 175 E. 10th St., was recently operated under the Hilton brand.

Frederick Melo was once sued by a reader for $2 million but kept on writing. He came to the Pioneer Press in 2005 and brings a testy East Coast attitude to St. Paul beat reporting. He spent nearly six years covering crime in the Dakota County courts before switching focus to the St. Paul mayor's office, city council, and all things neighborhood-related, from the city's churches to its parks and light rail. A resident of Hamline-Midway, he is married to a Frogtown woman. He Tweets with manic intensity at @FrederickMelo.

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